


Jaegers and Magic

by wild_moors



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 天狼 Sirius the Jaeger | Sirius the Jaeger (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, the crossover no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24917347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wild_moors/pseuds/wild_moors
Summary: The Jaegers are at Hogwarts! Hijinks ensue.Everyone has no idea who these transfer students are, or what they're doing here. This'll be an interesting year for sure.
Comments: 39
Kudos: 26





	1. The Sorting

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I've been toying with the idea of a Sirius the Jaeger x Harry Potter crossover for a while. At first, I was just curious what Houses they'd be Sorted into and then OOPS I'm coming up with oneshot ideas and OOPS look, I wrote something for it!
> 
> So I know Harry Potter has actual werewolves and vampires. Let me just say now, the plot of this fic is: Plot? What plot? I just really wanted to write these oddballs at Hogwarts, with magic spells, and magical creatures, and about a dozen things that they can get into trouble with. Basically, the premise of this is that the Jaegers (still vampire hunters) have come to Hogwarts so that Willard can do some more in-depth intelligence gathering from Hogwarts, where he has access to more connections and stuff, and they'll go on hunting trips when something crops up while lying low at the school otherwise. So I'm going to leave the vampires and werewolves how they were in the show. Yuliy doesn't change at full moon or anything, etc. Again, I have no plot in mind, but we'll see. Leave a comment or review or something if you've got an idea :)
> 
> I'll explain more at the end notes. (A lot more. Be warned)
> 
> Oh, and also, if you have a better idea for the title, PLEASE let me know XD I used "Jaegers and Magic" as a stand-in until I could figure something better out, but as they say, there's nothing more permanent than a working temporary...

The murmurs, excited for the Welcome Feast and the start of a new year, quickly turn to curiosity as the students file into the Great Hall. Two new professors sit at the staff table. One is Japanese, to Ryouko’s surprise, with neat black hair and a calm smile; the other looks quite a bit older and is probably a European native, with white hair and a monocle gleaming in the light of the candles, fingers steepled.

“Who are they?” Makie whispers, the light casting a glare on her glasses.

“No idea.” Shino taps her finger against her chin. “Although, I think one of the other professors is gone. Maybe they retired. And everyone knows the Defense professor always changes every year. What do you think, Ryouko?”

The brunette gives a small start at being addressed. “Eh? Um, I don’t know. I’m sure the Headmaster will explain everything once the Sorting is over, like he usually does.”

“Aww, come on, let’s speculate!”

“That’s the fun part about it!”

They take a seat at the table of green and silver trim, greeting some of their Housemates that they know. Ryouko gave in and is in the middle of speculating with her two roommates when she catches a glimpse of something _blue-_

She half-stands from her seat, trying to get a better look, and Makie and Shino look up at her in confusion.

“Ryouko?” Shino says. “What are you looking at?” She cranes her neck to try and see for herself, her short brown curls bobbing.

“Ah…” Everyone has mostly gotten seated, so Ryouko reluctantly sits back down in defeat. “Nothing…”

Makie gasps dramatically (which is never a good sign). “Did you spot a cute boy?”

“Wh-what? No!”

Shino’s expression turns manic. “Oh, you totally did, your face is beet red!”

“I-I did not!” Ryouko tries to will down her blush; why is she always blushing? “Now hush, the Sorting is about to start!”

Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor and one known by all students for her strictness, marches up the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, leading a gaggle of nervous-looking first years. Ryouko has to hide a smile at how tiny they look; she swears they get littler every year. She certainly doesn’t remember being that small at eleven years old.

The Sorting goes off without a hitch, until the end. McGonagall does not roll up her list of names, nor does she take away the old Hat and the stool like she has for the past four years that Ryouko has been here.

“We also have four new transfer students joining us this year.” Murmurs rise up before McGonagall clears her throat pointedly, and they all fall silent again. She hesitates a moment before saying, “Jirov, Yuliy.”

Ryouko can’t help but gasp as a teenage boy gets up from the Ravenclaw table. A small streak of white, like a dash of flour gone unnoticed, dashes through his jet black hair. And those eyes! That was where she saw that bright, vivid blue. The color is a clean, pure shade, and she finds herself captivated.

His expression, too. Completely stoic, unlike most first years, who aren’t even told about the Sorting procedure. Either he already knows about it, or just doesn’t care about the outcome. Ryouko can respect and admire that. The divide between Houses has eased up over the years, but no one’s ever going to stop people from stereotyping. Secretly, she hopes he ends up in Slytherin.

The brim of the Hat (its...lips?) flap a bit while it talks to Yuliy, who sits straight-backed and calm on the stool. He’s wearing the typical Hogwarts robes, but Ryouko can see a few personal touches as well, like an ornate blue sash around his waist, and tall black boots. Perhaps most interesting of all is how much time the Sorting Hat takes to decide—several minutes, by Ryouko’s estimate.

_“GRYFFINDOR!”_

Ryouko sighs in mild disappointment but claps politely anyways. As Yuliy walks to the lions den, Shino elbows her with a mischievous look.

“Bet you wanted him in Slytherin,” she teases.

Makie doesn’t even give Ryouko a chance to retort. “Oh my goodness, your face is _so_ red!”

Stammering too badly to even make a coherent response, Ryouko is for once saved by McGonagall.

“Lopez, Dorothea.”

A few gasps and murmurs rush up again as a tall, Hispanic seventh year gets up from the Ravenclaw table, her expression relaxed in her confidence. She’s beautiful, no doubt about that, with long, flowing black hair and dusky skin. One lock is pinned across her forehead with two silver and emerald hair clips. When she sits down, Ryouko can see a ruffled blouse, purple gloves, and tall, heeled leather boots under her robes. The colors of the hair clips makes Ryouko wonder if she was born into a family of Slytherins or something.

Sure enough, after only a second:

_“SLYTHERIN!”_

Ryouko and her table clap loudly, some cheering, as the graceful young woman steps towards their table. The brunette quickly scoots over to make some room, smiling brightly at Dorothea, who smiles back and sits down next to her.

“Welcome to Slytherin,” Ryouko says happily, shaking her hand. “I’m Ryouko.”

Makie and Shino introduce themselves, all bubbly cheer compared to Dorothea’s calm, ever-so-slightly mysterious confidence. Then they have to be quiet as the next student is called.

“Moore, Philip.”

This one is younger and smaller than his friends. Actually, Ryouko’s not sure if they’re friends, but they were all sitting at the front of the Ravenclaw table for some reason, and Dorothea looks highly interested in the outcome of the Sorting.

The teenage boy wears a look of nonchalant indifference as he sits down on the stool. He’s wearing shorts, interestingly enough. McGonagall drops the Hat over his head of platinum blond hair, and Ryouko sees him twitch briefly before subsiding. Surprised by the Sorting Hat’s voice, perhaps? She knows she was at the time of her Sorting.

A few seconds later:

_“GRYFFINDOR!”_

Next to Ryouko, Dorothea lets out an inelegant snort as Philip walks over to the Gryffindor table, looking slightly bewildered himself.

“What is it?” Ryouko asks, but Dorothea just shakes her head, still grinning.

“Murphy, Fallon.”

A burly young man with hair like fire, spiky and wild like real fire and bound in a ponytail, rises from the table, drawing everyone’s attention immediately like the others. He’s openly grinning as he approaches the Hat with an easy, loping gait, his heavy leather boots audible with every step, and he’s still grinning as he sits down. Like Yuliy, his Sorting is also deliberated by the Hat for a minute or so before:

_“HUFFLEPUFF!”_

Odd. So none of the strangers went to Ravenclaw.

As the applause dies away, the Headmaster stands. With a clap of his hands, the Feast begins, and the Hall is instantly filled with a buzz of conversation. The food is as good as ever, but at the other two tables, Ryouko can see the newcomers being plied with questions.

“So, did you guys all come here together?” Makie asks Dorothea.

“That’s right.”

“I love your accent,” Shino says, clapping her hands together with a beaming smile. “Where are you guys from?”

Dorothea takes a sip of pumpkin juice. “Hmm. We travel a lot, but Fallon’s from Ireland. Philip’s from England. I was born in Spain, and Yuliy’s from somewhere in Russia, I believe.”

Ryouko hangs onto the last bit of information, storing it away. “Wow, that’s a lot. How did you guys all meet each other? Wasn’t there some sort of language barrier?”

“Well, we all know five or six languages each,” Dorothea says with a shrug, apparently not noticing their stunned looks. “We don’t know all of each other’s home languages, but there’s always at least one of us to translate.” She doesn’t answer Ryouko’s first question.

“How do you _do_ that?” Makie squeaks, her fork frozen halfway to her mouth, and Dorothea just shrugs again, smiling in bemusement.

“So do you know anything about the new professor?” Shino asks eagerly, casting another glance at said professor, who’s chatting amicably with the other professors.

Dorothea’s teal eyes gleam mysteriously. “Maybe.” She tries some of the food, and her expression betrays her surprise for the first time. “This is really good. Who makes it?”

“The house elves in the kitchens, of course,” Makie says, tilting her head.

She blinks slowly. “House elves?”

All three girls stare at her in surprise, and she adds, “I’m muggleborn, so if this is just like a wizarding culture thing…”

“You’re muggleborn?” Ryouko echoes, staring at her.

A cool look passes over Dorothea’s face. “Yes. So?” she asks deliberately, arching an eyebrow. All of a sudden, she looks almost a bit intimidating.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Ryouko hurries to say, waving her hands in the air. “I just—well, your hair clips. They’re standard Slytherin colors. I thought they were some kind of heirloom or something.”

Her teal eyes narrow fractionally, then she shrugs, and the pressure seems to vanish.

“I suppose they _are_ Slytherin colors,” she admits, touching one of the clips, and Ryouko silently breathes out a relieved sigh. “They were a gift from my family when we first found out I had magic.” Her expression warms with fond nostalgia.

Suddenly, something white comes fluttering over the Ravenclaw table towards Slytherin. An origami bird lands in front of Dorothea, who rolls her eyes and leans to the side to make a face at someone past the Ravenclaw table before opening up what appears to be a folded napkin. After a moment, she rolls her eyes again and grabs her wand from within her robes, holding it like a quill to write something back. Then she folds it up again, taps it, and blows on it, sending it flying back, all without a word or any apparent effort.

“You were saying?” she says to the others, seemingly unaware of their shock.

\---

“How did we end up in the same House?” is the first thing out of Philip’s mouth as he sits down heavily next to Yuliy.

“Would you rather be with Fallon?” the older boy asks straight-faced.

Philip shudders. “Hell no.” He reaches up to flatten his hair, seeming to not even realize what he’s doing. “I’m just saying, don’t all the moody misfits go to Slytherin?”

Yuliy glares at him. “Don’t let Dorothea hear you say that.”

The two of them glance over at the Slytherin table immediately, and meet Dorothea’s gaze. She blinks slowly at them, her teal gaze piercing right into their souls, and smiles.

Philip suddenly sneezes loud enough to pass for an airhorn. Luckily, the Sorting Hat bellows, _“HUFFLEPUFF!”_ right at that same moment, causing his sneeze to go unnoticed.

Fallon trundles over to the Hufflepuff table, and Philip breathes a relieved sigh and, again, flattens his perfect hair.

\---

They take their time in leaving the Great Hall, gathering in a small annex room off to the side of it one by one. Philip and Yuliy, who sat at the Gryffindor table closest to that side, reach it first, followed closely by Fallon and Dorothea.

“Too bad we couldn’t all be in the same house!” Fallon remarks, sounding relatively cheerful despite his words. He ruffles Philip’s hair, and the blonde scampers away with an indignant yelp. Yuliy thinks to himself that by this point, Philip should really see it coming.

“Would you quit it!” Philip exclaims, grabbing his wand. With a quick flick of his wrist, his hair is back in perfect order—all three strands of it that were out of place, by Yuliy’s estimate. “I wouldn’t want to be in any House you’re in!”

Fallon pouts, looking more amused than hurt. “Aww, don’t be like that.”

“I expected you to be in Gryffindor, from what the professor told us about the Houses,” Yuliy admits to Fallon.

“He does fit their stereotype of brave, bold, and brash,” Dorothea remarks dryly from behind Fallon. “Plus, he’s a ginger. Gryffindor colors.”

“Yeah! Wait, is brash supposed to be an insul-”

“Forget Fallon, I want to know how the two of us are in the same House!” Philip gestures between himself and Yuliy with what seems like excessive zeal. “I mean, look at us! We’re polar opposites!” He gestures again, flapping his hands wildly enough to nearly punch Yuliy, who takes a big step away. _“How?!”_

“Don’t question the Sorting Hat,” a cool voice remarks, tinged with amusement. Willard closes the door behind him with a small smile. “It makes strange decisions sometimes, but it always has a reason.”

The new Head of Ravenclaw House sits down, flipping open his pocket watch.

“Frankly, I wasn’t surprised by any of your placements,” he says evenly. “Slytherins are known for their ambition and cunning-” Dorothea grins, white teeth stark against her dark skin. “-Hufflepuffs for loyalty and good work ethic- Fallon crosses his arms over his broad chest, beaming. “-and Gryffindors for valor and sense of justice.”

Philip tucks his hands behind his head with an uncaring sniff. Yuliy narrows his eyes slightly, wand thrumming with energy against his chest, even through the fabric of his shirt.

“I still don’t understand why we’re here at Hogwarts,” Yuliy admits, clasping a hand over his chest. “It feels like we’re just wasting time…”

“Taking a moment to slow down and rest is not wasting time,” Willard admonishes lightly, flipping his pocket watch shut. “We all need it, after the last mission. It’s time well spent. And I have access to information and connections here at Hogwarts that I wouldn’t elsewhere. Plus, I’m not an expert in all branches of magic. You’ll all benefit from having different teachers who are actually trained professionals in their subjects.”

“Besides, we’ll still be going out to hunt when we have a lead,” Dorothea adds, running a finger along her wand with a calm smile. “In the meantime, we’ll take some time off, kick back. This place _is_ a school. We can have fun here.”

“We should join the Quidditch teams!” Philip exclaims, excited all of a sudden. “We’d totally smoke everyone with our flying skills!” He always enjoys watching the matches, and gets extra stroppy whenever the hunt gets in the way of it. The younger, smaller teenage boy lacks raw firepower in his magic, but he makes up for it in his mobility and quick reactions in guerilla warfare. All of them, even Willard, can fly a broom through a hail of gunfire and spells, but Philip is probably the best out of their team.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Willard says, one hand on his chin. “It’s also an excuse to keep practicing your flying.”

Philip waves a hand flippantly, smirking. “My skills don’t need practice!”

Fallon grins. “Oh yeah? How about two weeks ago when you nearly flew into three streetlamps?”

“That was a fluke!”

“On three separate occasions, though?”

“We wouldn’t all be on the same team,” Yuliy muses out loud.

Philip crosses his arms with a ‘hmph’. “That’s the fun of it!” he says with a grin. “I wanna play Keeper.”

“Afraid to get caught up in the heat of the chase?” Dorothea teases, smirking; Philip puffs up immediately.

“As if! My reaction speed would be great for Keeper, that’s all.” And besides, after dodging bullets and spellfire and everything else in between, any one of them would be fine with playing Chaser or Beater and getting up in the chaos.

Willard clears his throat. “I have business to discuss with the Headmaster. You all get some sleep. Class starts tomorrow,” he reminds them with a glint in his golden eyes. “I look forward to seeing how you all perform amongst your peers.”


	2. Class Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thanks so much for the support on the first chapter! I really appreciate it :) I hope I can continue to deliver.

No one knows what to make of the transfer students.

They’re inseparable. They’re friendly enough (mostly), but they stick together, which makes sense, except for the fact that Philip is always bickering with either Fallon or Yuliy, yet the four of them never seem to split up over it. They can almost always be seen hanging out in the courtyards or the hallway, or around the room of the new Ancient Runes professor, whom they seem to know quite well. Sometimes, they’ll be hanging out in their respective common rooms, usually Gryffindor, since two of them are in that House.

They’re like stepping stones, each one year apart from the next. Dorothea’s oldest, followed by Fallon, then Yuliy, then Philip, covering seventh to fourth year. Despite the year difference, they still apparently study together in the library and do homework together.

Another thing that people quickly realize is that these kids are _good._

By the first week, the whole school is already whispering about these foreign students. Fallon is apparently a genius at Charms, and Dorothea actually got a smile out of McGonagall on the first day in Transfiguration. Philip is younger, but apparently just as good as his friends, outshining literally everyone in Arithmancy with the calculator in his head.

As for Yuliy, Ryouko was lucky enough to have Defense as her second class on the first day, which is one that Slytherin shares with Gryffindor (after an utterly mind-numbing History lesson, unfortunately). Their new Defense professor this year is leaning against the blackboard waiting for them while they file into class, murmuring to themselves in speculation. Ryouko is pleased when she manages to snag the seat right behind Yuliy. He wears a short ponytail, she notices absently.

She opens her mouth and reaches out to tap his shoulder to introduce herself, maybe ask him where he’s from, or about his hobbies or something, when the bell rings. Professor Hideomi Iba straightens up, and she retracts her hand reluctantly.

With a flick of his wand, the door shuts. Yuliy’s shoulders tense.

Iba clears his throat. Without warning, he barks, “Wands out!”

Most people reach into their pockets quickly, caught off-guard by the order, but as Ryouko draws her cherry wand, she notices that Yuliy already has his ready in a tight grip.

Iba’s slate eyes gleam. “Three points for a quick draw, Mr. Jirov.” He doesn’t even consult the attendance list. Does he already know everyone’s names and faces? “And those of you that are reaching into your bags, I won’t take points off this time, but I expect you to have your wands on hand at all times from here on out. You’re all witches and wizards, after all. Alright, stand up.”

They do so eagerly. Practical lessons are always better in a subject like this.

With an easy wave of his wand, Iba sends all the desks to line up at the sides of the room. “So, who’d like to do a practice demonstration? Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.”

Crickets chirp. Ryouko’s hand trembles by her side as she contemplates raising it, darting glances at Yuliy. She wets her lips, preparing to volunteer-

“How about you, Mr. Jirov?”

Half disappointed, half relieved, Ryouko retreats with Makie and Shino to the sides of the room, barely noticing their teasing looks, and the class leaves Yuliy Jirov standing in the middle of the room, opposite from Iba, who quickly erects minor duelling wards with ease of practice. The professor gives Yuliy the first move, and the fifth year raises his wand to eye level.

Something intense burns like blue fire behind his eyes. It’s almost familiar...He looks how Ryouko feels when she’s hunting down that speck of gold on the Quidditch pitch—predatory, with no intention of losing.

Without warning, a Stunner flies at Iba, who snaps his wand up to shield. The speed of their movements and the _CRACK_ of the Stunner hitting the shield startles everyone, making some people jump. The most astonishing thing is that Yuliy’s lips didn’t move at all—nor do they as the duel continues.

Ryouko watches in awe. Nonverbal casting is something that none of them have even thought about yet. That’s sixth year stuff. How is he doing it so easily?

He gets overpowered soon, but puts up more than a decent fight for a fifth year against their professor. Rumor has it that Iba is a senior Auror in the Corps. He looks a little young to be a senior Auror, but the ease with which he handled Yuliy’s spells makes it more believable.

“That was excellent. Fifteen points to Gryffindor,” Iba praises.

Yuliy takes the compliment with nothing more than a nod, accepting his wand back quickly after being disarmed. He retreats to the side of the classroom and comes to stand right next to Ryouko, who tenses. Her gaze lingers a little too long, and as he starts to turn to look at her, she quickly turns to face front again and hopes that he can’t see her blushing to the roots of her hair.

“Now, the spell that Mr. Jirov opened up with was the Stunning Spell, incantation _Stupefy._ It’s a staple spell in many Aurors’ arsenal, and one that you should have in yours as well. Let’s practice the wand motion first…”

Ryouko is itching to talk to Yuliy the whole time, but between practicing the spell and helping Makie and Shino with it too, she doesn’t get the chance. Giving them some flimsy excuse of having to look something up in the library, she hurries out the door after Yuliy, who drifted out the door first, quick and nimble.

“Y-Yuliy!” she calls, drawing some attention from passersby.

He turns, pausing in the middle of the hallway. Ryouko blushes again, confronted with the intense, icy blue of his gaze, and he quirks an eyebrow, clearly waiting for her to speak.

“How did you get so good at duelling?” she blurts out all in one breath. “I mean, we don’t even start nonverbal incantations until sixth year, and—and you managed to hold your own against an actual professor, and an Auror!”

He blinks slowly at her, and she wonders briefly if he even heard her. Then he draws breath to reply, lips parting-

“Oi, Yuliy!”

They both turn to see the blond, Philip, striding down the hall, his bookbag bouncing carelessly against his leg with each step. He gives Ryouko a passing look of mild curiosity before turning his attention to Yuliy.

“The others are waiting in the professor’s room,” he says impatiently. “We’re all waiting on you, y’know.”

Yuliy nods shortly, and Philip brushes past them, hands tucked behind his head. Yuliy goes to follow, then stops and looks back at Ryouko.

“Practice,” is all he says before heading after Philip, leaving her standing in the hall.

She realizes it’s the first time she’s heard him speak so far. He didn’t utter a single word in class.

Makie and Shino pounce as soon as she returns to the common room. “So?!” they demand, eyes shining gleefully.

Ryouko blushes again, twisting her fingers together. “U-um...well...he has a nice voice?”

She’s determined to hear it again. Later, she manages to pester Makie and Shino into practicing the Stunning Spell some more in an empty classroom, determined to get it right.

\---

“Hey, you’ve made a name for yourself already, huh?” Fallon teases as soon as Yuliy walks in the door.

“How did you _already_ hear about that?” He drops his bag haphazardly on one of the desks and sits down. “And what was I supposed to do, let him crush me?” Philip lied when he said everyone was waiting, apparently; Dorothea isn’t even here yet.

“I thought you were all about keeping a low profile,” Philip snickers, tossing his bag down next to one of the chairs across from Fallon. The burly redhead pulls out a pack of playing cards, and Yuliy internally groans.

“I didn’t know nonverbal magic was going to be so outstanding,” Yuliy mutters irritably, slouching down into his seat. “At least I didn’t try to keep fighting after he disarmed me.”

“You really think you would’ve won?” Philip asks disbelievingly as Fallon begins to build their card house—except the cards are all Exploding Snap cards, and the two of them have never built their dream mansion once.

“No,” Yuliy admits. “I wouldn’t have beaten him. I don’t practice my wandless magic enough to actually duel with it. It’s just to buy time and get my wand back.”

“Perhaps that’s something you can work on while we’re here,” Willard comments, not looking up from his book behind his desk.

Yuliy nods to himself. “Oh yeah...what’s OWL? Both McGonagall and Iba talked about it a bit.”

“The O-W-L’s are a set of examinations at the end of fifth year,” Willard explains. “It’s a cumulative exam covering everything you’ve learned from first to fifth year. Your grades determine whether or not you’ll continue taking the class in sixth and seventh year, although if your grades are good enough, you can choose which ones to take. From there, your grades in the NEWTs, which are another set of cumulative exams at the end of seventh year, determine your career opportunities.”

“So that’s why everyone keeps talking about them,” Yuliy murmurs to himself absently.

“Indeed. Dorothea and Fallon had to take alternate versions of the OWLs to place into their NEWT courses for this year.”

“Which sucked,” Fallon grumbles. “The tests took forever.” The tip of his tongue protrudes from his mouth as he slowly lowers one of the cards down.

“Hey, you don’t get to complain,” Philip argues, jabbing a finger at him. “You and Dorothea don’t have to stay up until midnight every Wednesday to climb all the way up the Astronomy Tower to stargaze!”

“It was still a waste of time,” the redhead complains. “We’re only going to be here for a year.”

“Well, you never know,” the professor comments idly, and Yuliy glances at him in surprise.

“What do you m-”

The door opens quickly, revealing Dorothea’s lithe frame. “Hey, ev-”

_BOOM!_

The Exploding Snap cards, well, explode. Far from being alarmed, Philip and Fallon just groan in exasperation. At this point, it would be surprising if they _were_ surprised.

“That one was totally your fault,” Philip grouses.

“What? That was Dorothea’s fault for distracting me!”

“Hey, don’t get me involved,” she protests, walking up the aisle with a cat-like grin. “How are classes so far, Yuliy?”

He slouches further down in his seat. “Fine.”

She snickers affectionately, one hand on her hip. “That bad already?” she asks sympathetically, sitting down in the seat next to him. She seems to be in a good mood, so he can only assume the day has been going well for her.

“I didn’t know they hadn’t covered nonverbal spells,” he complains.

Dorothea leans back in her seat with a grin. “I’m remembering that time when me and Fallon met you as a little ten-year-old and you were all like, ‘Wait, you _can’t_ do magic without a wand? What kind of witch and wizard are you guys?’”

“Wh—I wasn’t-”

“I know,” she laughs. He would never do or say something like that. “I was just teasing you. Don’t worry about it. There are already enough rumors flying around about us, what’s one more? And plus, you don’t have to worry about slipping up and doing it later, since everyone knows already.”

He cracks a small smile, slightly heartened by that idea.

“And if you’re that worried about developing a reputation, well, you have Potions on Friday,” she reminds him in a sing-song voice with a wink, and his good mood dissipates immediately. The older girl bursts into laughter at his expression. Yuliy has never been good with Potions (which is strange, because it’s a lot like cooking, and he does all the campfire cooking for the team).

They don’t even blink at the next explosion, nor the bickering that follows. All in a day’s work.

\---

The Potions Master of Hogwarts is the most biased jerk there ever was, and everyone knows it.

Which is why Ryouko makes sure to snag the seat next to Yuliy. “Hi,” she greets with a small smile.

His gaze flickers to her. “Hello,” he responds quietly.

“Sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier,” she says cheerfully, determined not to be put off by his reticence. “I’m Ryouko. It’s nice to meet you.”

He blinks twice at her, thin fingers drumming softly on the desk. “Yuliy. Likewise.”

“Um…” She can _feel_ Makie and Shino staring at her from behind her. “Just so you know, the professor really doesn’t like Gryffindors...He’ll look for any excuse to dock points.”

A grimace passes over his face briefly before it fades back into a passive visage. “Thanks for the warning.”

She figures he’ll probably be fine, though. If he has even a fraction of the skill he clearly possesses when it comes to Defense, he can probably pass under the professor’s radar with minimal trouble.

The problem is that he doesn’t.

Ryouko winces when he accidentally stirs the potion too much, and it starts to fizz for the fourth time today. In his haste to grab his wand, he knocks his knife to the ground, where it skitters under his desk. He tries to reach for it, but it mysteriously flies out of his reach.

Angrily, Ryouko whips her head around to see a few Slytherin boys snickering in the adjacent aisle, one of them holding the knife that Yuliy dropped. Her hand creeps towards her own wand...but the professor might use the opportunity to make a scapegoat out of one of her Gryffindor classmates, probably Yuliy.

Without a word, Yuliy ignores the Slytherin boys and flicks his wand at the dried roots. Instantly, they begin dicing themselves up into neat, proportional chunks without a word.

He seems to sense her surprise and explains quietly, “I did most of the cooking for us.”

Even more surprised that the reserved boy shared something about himself, she doesn’t notice their professor creeping closer until he’s practically breathing down their necks.

“Showing off, are we?” he remarks disdainfully, and they both whirl around. “Five points from Gryffindor. Just because you’re new here doesn’t make you special, Mr. Jirov.”

Ryouko clenches her fists angrily at the poor excuse, but her potion suddenly demands her attention, and she’s forced to let it go as their professor strides away, not even bothering to hide his smug expression.

Yuliy huffs quietly, but he doesn’t seem to care much. Although, she thinks she hears him mutter under his breath something about Philip biting his head off later.

At the end of class, in the hustle and bustle of everyone packing up and clearing away ingredients and cleaning up their workspace, Yuliy flicks his wand over at the Slytherin boys who stole his knife. A blur of silver flies across the room, and if not for Ryouko’s Seeker eye, she wouldn’t have seen it before Yuliy tucks the knife away in a simple sheath on his belt like nothing happened.

Her curiosity jumps yet again. What kind of a wizard carries an actual knife on his person?

To her disappointment, Yuliy disappears out the door as soon as the bell rings. But she smirks smugly when one of the boys looks around and realizes that his stolen prize is gone. For good measure, she whispers a spell to nudge his textbook onto the floor, where he’ll probably step on it. It’s petty, and useless in the long run, but worth it.

~~~

Shino dots the last period on the roll of parchment and leans back in her seat with a sigh of contentment. “Finally! Thanks for all the help, Miss Potions Master!” They make sure to keep their voices down, though. Madam Pince has the hearing of an owl, and the temperament of a goblin.

Ryouko half grins, half grimaces. “You’re welcome. But ugh, that guy is such a jerk sometimes.” Suffice it to say, Yuliy might not have cared about the points unfairly taken, but she still does.

Makie shrugs sympathetically. “I mean, what can you do, right? Hey, can you look over mine too?”

They trade papers, Makie’s Potions essay for Ryouko’s Ancient Runes. Makie’s family runs a museum that specializes in ancient scriptures and the like, so she grew up with the stuff.

Meanwhile, Shino gets out some random scrap rubbish for them to practice Vanishing, which they touched on in Transfiguration already.

“Try imagining it,” Shino advises while Ryouko struggles. “McGonagall says Vanishing disperses magic, so it’s more than just making the thing go away.”

Ryouko chews her lip and raises her wand again. _“Evanesco.”_

An old, raggedy quill poofs away, but leaving the feather shaft, and they both sigh.

“Sorry, I’m not good at explaining things,” Shino says apologetically. She’s a whiz at practical work, but not so much at explaining the theory.

“It’s fine,” Ryouko reassures her, standing up. “I’m gonna go see if I can find a book on it. Be right back.”

The problem with the Hogwarts library is that it’s too _extensive._ While searching for a book on Vanishing, Ryouko spots a leather-bound book titled something about advanced theories of arithmancy, another one of her classes. She reads about thirty pages of it before realizing that she’s been standing there for several minutes, her neck is getting sore, and she’s still no closer to her intended goal than when she started.

Several minutes, something piques her interest for the fifth time. This time, though, it’s something she hears, and she creeps closer to the open area of the library, where desks and chairs are set up for students to study and work.

“...so bad at this, I swear,” someone’s voice says in exasperation. It sounds vaguely familiar…

A deeper voice laughs cheerfully. “Don’t be like that! That’s why we help each other!”

“Don’t touch my hair!”

Then Ryouko hears a voice she recognizes as Dorothea’s, to her surprise.

“Hey, keep it down, or we’ll get kicked out. We’re not in the professor’s room-”

“Can’t we just go there instead?” mumbles a quieter voice—Yuliy!

“No,” Dorothea answers dryly, “or else these two are going to get distracted, and it’s much quieter here without all the explosions.”

Ryouko blinks. Explosions?

She hears Yuliy sigh. “Speaking of getting distracted…”

Philip heaves a sigh of his own. “Can’t you guys help him with Potions? Why do I have to do it?” he complains, and Yuliy lets out an irritable huff.

“Hey, we have our own work to do,” says the deeper voice—Fallon, probably. “I’m gonna go look up some stuff. Anyone want me to bring something back?”

“I’ll come with you, actually,” Dorothea says, followed by some shuffling, and then receding footsteps.

Ryouko takes a deep breath. Now or never. It would’ve been better if Dorothea hadn’t left, because she doesn’t know Philip, but she’ll take what she can get.

She peeks around the corner. Philip, the blond, is rocking mindlessly on the back legs of his chair, one foot propped up against the table leg; meanwhile, Yuliy has a half-written essay in front of him, and is doodling on what is probably supposed to be a notes page.

“Hi, Yuliy,” she blurts out, drawing the two boys’ attention immediately.

Philip stares at her in blatant curiosity, and Yuliy blinks slowly. “Hi…” She wonders briefly if he remembers her name at all.

“Who’re you?” Philip asks bluntly, though not rudely.

“I’m Ryouko. I sit next to Yuliy in Potions.”

“Oh, great,” he declares, letting his chair _thunk_ back onto all four legs. “You can help this guy with Potions, then, right? He’s kinda hopeless.”

Yuliy glares at Philip, and Ryouko’s not sure which side to take. Philip could stand to be a little nicer about his criticism...but it’s not entirely unfounded.

“Sure,” Ryouko agrees, “but I’d really appreciate some help with Vanishing spells. I just can’t seem to get them right, and we have an essay due next week.”

Philip smirks, tucking his hands behind his head. “You’re just like Dorothea. A favor for a favor. You’re a Slytherin too, right?”

“And proud of it,” she says, lifting her chin with a smile.

“Well, Dorothea’s the best at Transfiguration. None of us can match her.” The respect for his friend is evident in his voice. Ryouko wonders how they got to know each other, as varied in age, background, and talents as they are. “But she won’t be back for a while. She’s half Ravenclaw—set her loose in a library, and you won’t see a hair of her for days if she had her way.”

Ryouko smiles in amusement, already fond of the way they speak so familiarly of each other, though it puts her on edge when Philip rocks his chair onto its back legs again with a grin.

“Yuliy’s not half bad at Transfiguration, though,” he says flippantly. “Better than he is at Potions, at any rate. Not that that says much.”

Yuliy glares. Without warning, the chair topples backwards, leaving Philip scrambling on the floor, squawking indignantly.

“Did you do that?!”

Yuliy’s expression is the picture of blank innocence. “Do what?”

From the side, Ryouko can see him quickly stowing his wand away under his robes.

“So…” Ryouko watches as Philip rights himself, taking excessive care to straighten his hair before propping the chair up. “Mind if I bring my friends? They’re pretty smart too.”

Which is how they find themselves levitating over extra chairs for them all. Dorothea and Fallon come back to see that the group has almost doubled in size, but they greet Ryouko and her friends with smiles. The three Slytherin girls are extraordinarily pleased that Dorothea even remembers their names.

Yuliy is actually pretty good at Transfiguration, although he’s about as good at explaining it in concise words as Shino is. Dorothea is much better at both the subject and explaining it, and she even Conjures perfect little birds for Ryouko to practice. The fifth year nearly cheers before she remembers they’re still in the library when she finally manages to Vanish a robin.

And it turns out Yuliy is a Herbology genius and can _really_ get talking about the subject, able to identify a hundred and one plants by their pictures alone as well as their magical properties, if applicable, plus how to care for some of them, when their flowers bloom, what kinds of reagents can be harvested-

“Your nerd is showing,” Philip snarks at him as he finishes explaining some of the uses of bubotuber pus, and Yuliy rolls his bright blue eyes, though he doesn’t seem as irritated.

“How do you know all of that?” she asks in amazement.

A tiny, pleased smile flickers at the corner of his mouth, and her face instantly feels like someone just used an _Incendio_ spell (and probably looks red enough for it too, if her friends’ sly and amused expressions are anything to go by).

It’s a bit of a tight fit around the table with all of them, but the strange and friendly transfer students don’t seem to mind, even when it comes to Makie and Shino’s endless questions. Ryouko is shoulder-to-shoulder with Yuliy, so it’s not like she’s complaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, Iba is the Defense professor XD Because why not. And I decided to make the Potions professor a jerk, like Snape was in canon, because making life hard for our favorite werewolf boy is fun. :)
> 
> My idea for this crossover AU is that the Jaegers still hunt vampires like they did in canon, just with wands instead of guns and crossbows. Vampires presumably have magic too, which complicates the hunting process, requiring more in-depth skills along with a strategic mind. Like, I can imagine them having to work through wards, casting Anti-Disapparition jinxes, etc. So they're all really good at Defense, and they have their own specialty subjects as well. Because of the danger involved with their job, they would naturally be more well-versed with certain subjects than most kids their age. They're not good at everything (they probably suck at Astronomy, because I bet there's not much time for stargazing lessons while hunting vampires), but they're pretty good.
> 
> Also, I didn't want Ryouko to seem shallow by ignoring her friends in favor of chasing after Yuliy, so I tried to bring them up often as a fixture in Ryouko's life at Hogwarts. In the anime, it doesn't matter because it appears that the only setting she sees them in is school, but since she lives at Hogwarts with Makie and Shino (their names are canon, by the way), I didn't want to just exclude them.
> 
> If anyone has suggestions/feedback for future chapters or whatever, feel free to comment/review! :)


	3. Quidditch: Slytherin vs Hufflepuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a bit distracted lately, oops XD

_“And Lopez has the Quaffle! She’s closing in on the scoring area...Oh, and she scores on Murphy!”_

Slytherin cheers from the stands, and Dorothea swoops away with a smug grin over her shoulder, fist-pumping. Fallon scowls at her from the netpost as one of his teammates snatches up the Quaffle, determined to save the next shot. It’s pouring rain, the wind is blowing at almost fifty kilometers per hour, and at this point, it’s pretty much just the two of them still playing with as much enthusiasm as they all started out with.

A Bludger nearly knocks Ryouko off her broom, and she veers away just in time, berating herself for spacing out. But she can’t help it; it’s kind of mesmerizing. Dorothea moves like an eagle on her broom—all deadly intent, not a single movement wasted. She and Fallon seem to have some sort of personal rivalry going on, and every time Dorothea gets near the Hufflepuff goals, the entire crowd holds its breath.

It’s not just them either; every one of the transfer students flies like a daredevil, making hairpin turns and sheer dives that most students wouldn’t try on a regular basis. Granted, Ryouko hasn’t seen the full flying capabilities of either Fallon or Philip, since they both play Keeper, but they’ve both pulled off some spectacular saves. Fallon has the typical muscular, bulky build of a Beater, and Philip, built like a sparrow, all elbows and speed, has the look of a Chaser or a Seeker, but both of them have cat-like reflexes.

As for Yuliy, Ryouko snooped around at one of the Gryffindor practices, and Merlin, that boy can _fly._ He plays Seeker, and her mouth goes dry as she thinks of what it’ll be like to compete against him, head-on.

A cheer goes up from the Hufflepuff section when Fallon manages to catch the next shot. He hurls it to one of his team’s Chasers and makes an ‘I’m watching you’ hand motion at Dorothea, who simply grins. Making a hand motion at her other Chasers, she arrows after the Hufflepuff Chaser who has the Quaffle. One of the Slytherin Beaters slams a Bludger at the Hufflepuff, and a Slytherin Chaser snatches the Quaffle. They all bank around sharply, with Dorothea in the lead again. She’s the only one who’s been able to get past Fallon.

At the last second, Dorothea acts as if she’s going to feint, then hurls the Quaffle straight at Fallon, who darted to the side to anticipate her feint. The Quaffle soars right past the tips of his fingers, and he grins ruefully as Slytherin scores another ten points.

Suddenly, a glimmer of gold catches Ryouko’s attention, and she takes off instantly. The sound of the wind howling drowns out all the commentary and cheering, and she swerves in and out of flying Bludgers and bodies, pressing herself low to her broom with a grin. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Hufflepuff’s Seeker reacting, chasing after her and the Snitch, but it’s too late.

Triumph surges through her as she snatches the golden Snitch out of the air, and the stands explode into cheering. Banking around easily, she pulls her broom to a stop and thrusts her fist into the air, basking in a triumphant glow. The satisfaction of earning O’s in class can’t be compared to the rush of euphoria from catching the Snitch, tiny wings beating furiously in her hand.

As her teammates gather around her to celebrate, she finds herself scanning the stands for maybe a glimpse of that entrancing blue. But it eludes her, so she contents herself with shouting herself hoarse with her teammates, temporarily setting aside all dignity to jump around and holler like a hooligan.

“Hey, nice catch!” Dorothea yells over the ruckus, throwing an arm around Ryouko’s shoulders, and the younger girl beams at the praise.

“You were brilliant too!” she shouts back.

Later at the party, Ryouko manages to get away from Makie and Shino for a second to talk to Dorothea, who’s sipping butterbeer by the emerald fireplace.

“You flew great,” the brunette starts with a smile, sitting down in the couch next to her.

Dorothea flashes a modest smile. “You did too. That Hufflepuff Seeker had nothing on you.”

Warm delight spreads through her chest at the compliment, especially one from such a talented witch. “Thank you.”

The older girl chuckles. “I should be the one saying that,” she laughs, lifting her butterbeer in Ryouko’s direction briefly. “Thanks to you, we won the match, and I won my bet.”

“It was a team effort,” Ryouko demurs, though she’s curious. “What was your bet?”

Her teal eyes gleam with a cat-like smugness. “I get to make Fallon drink a whole bottle of firewhiskey next time we go out. He hates it,” she declares, her grin downright diabolical.

Ryouko giggles uncertainly. “Um, I don’t think The Three Broomsticks sells firewhiskey…” They must both be legal age to drink already, then.

Dorothea just shrugs one shoulder, still grinning. “Well, y’know,” she says, and leaves it at that.

The brunette shifts awkwardly when no more explanation comes. “So...are you two dating, then?” she asks, curious for any more information on this strange new bunch.

But Dorothea outright laughs at that, and has to put her butterbeer down to avoid spilling it as she doubles over. A few people give them strange looks, then go back to partying.

“Oh, Merlin, no,” she cackles when she straightens up, eyes gleaming with mirth. “We’re best friends. Family, even. That’s really all there is to it.”

She nods slowly, a bit jealous. Makie and Shino are wonderful friends, if a bit much at times, but she only knows them because all three of their families are old, ancient ones. Their parents were the ones who introduced them and basically told them to be friends. Which they are. She likes them just fine, but she doesn’t know if she can really call them family.

“What would’ve happened if we lost?” Ryouko asks. “In your bet, I mean.”

Dorothea shudders and leans in conspiratorially, prompting Ryouko to do the same, and the seventh year whispers gravely, “I would’ve had to give up coffee for a week.”

Slightly let down by this anticlimax, Ryouko sits back. “Okay…” Going by the grim expression on Dorothea’s face, though, she thinks it might be best if she didn’t express her opinion on that half of the bet.

“So, I’ve Yuliy do a lot of nonverbal magic in class, especially Defense,” Ryouko starts, trying to be smooth and casual. “Can you do that too?”

Dorothea’s lips quirk in a small smile, eyebrows drifting up, and Ryouko has the feeling that she’s not being as subtle as she thinks she is. “Sure, yeah. We all can.”

Ryouko blinks in surprise. “Even Philip?”

“Yeah. He’s a bit shaky with it, but we’re all pretty decent at it, as a general rule.”

She frowns. “...As a general rule?”

Dorothea looks almost guilty for a split second. “Ah, it’s nothing. You’re a fifth year, right? Know what you wanna do after Hogwarts yet?”

In response, Ryouko lets out an exasperated groan, and Dorothea chuckles sympathetically. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“My father wants me to take over the family business,” she admits, cradling her butterbeer in her fingers, watching the flames dance through her fingers and the amber liquid. “But I don’t know if that’s what I want.”

“Well, you have time,” the older girl says with a reassuring smile. “Nothing’s set in stone for you yet. And no one says you can’t have hobbies on the side or anything.”

Ryouko hums quietly, staring at the bits of foam dancing atop the butterbeer. “What about you? You’re a seventh year, right?”

Dorothea shrugs, rather casual for their conversation topic. “Eh, I dunno. I’d probably go for Curse-Breaking if I had a choice.”

“You...don’t?” Ryouko asks hesitantly, noting her odd choice of words.

Her teeth gleam as she smiles. “Not really. But I don’t mind. This way, the five of us get to stick together.” A hint of something bittersweet tinges her smile and her tone as she adds softly, “Family always comes first…”

Ryouko notes that she said ‘five’, not ‘four’. A million questions race through her mind.

“Anyways, it’s getting late,” Dorothea sighs. She knocks back the rest of her drink and stands up, flashing Ryouko a smile. “I’m going to sleep. I’m gonna have to put up with Fallon tomorrow, so I’ll probably need it. ‘Night.”

“W-wait!” Ryouko yelps.

She pauses at the entrance to the girls’ dorm, lifting one dark brow. “Hmm?”

Ryouko desperately wants to know more about them, all of them, but especially the boy with the bright blue eyes. “Um, I was wondering...could you maybe teach me how you fly like that?” she asks hopefully. Any chance to find out more…

Dorothea blinks once. Twice. Then she yawns and says, “Sure. Quidditch pitch, five tomorrow. That work?”

“O-oh!” Surprised at how fast Dorothea agreed, Ryouko can only stammer out, “U-um, sure! That—that sounds great! Thank you!”

Makie and Shino materialize by her side as if by Apparition as soon as Dorothea disappears down the hall, demanding to know what they talked about. They’re disappointed when Ryouko reveals that she didn’t actually find out much about Yuliy—for some reason, the two of them are now wholeheartedly supporting Ryouko chasing after the strange boy with the bright blue eyes. Although Ryouko doesn’t really understand their sudden zeal (it kind of freaks her out a tiny bit), she’s glad for their support nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, it's headcanon justification/rationalization time again! XD
> 
> So, Ryouko's position was pretty easy for me to choose. When she sets her sights on something (read: Yuliy), she goes after it with zero hesitation.
> 
> Dorothea could've been Seeker, but Ryouko was definitely Seeker already. I didn't see her as a Beater or a Keeper, so I made her Chaser. That finalized my decision to make Fallon a Keeper, because they're like BFF rivals XD I do see him as more of a 'front-liner' in the way I was talking about in my rationalization for Philip's position, so Fallon could've been Chaser. It would've been fun to make him and Dorothea fight for the Quaffle, in hindsight XD I just made a bit of a stretch from his protectiveness over his friends to an overall status of a guard, or protector, which translates to Keeper.
> 
> Willard's a professor, so he obviously doesn't play. He can still fly, like the rest of them. If he did play, I guess I'd put him as Seeker too, because he has a passion for pursuing knowledge like a Seeker chases the Snitch.
> 
> Gryffindor vs Slytherin match coming up next! :) I'll explain my reasoning for Yuliy and Philip's positions then, and touch on Ryouko's position a little more.


	4. Quidditch: Gryffindor vs Slytherin

“Are you nervous?”

Dorothea’s cool voice has the opposite effect of her words, and Ryouko grins tightly. “Of course not.”

“That’s the spirit,” their captain says with a grin, mounting his broom, and the others do the same.

One by one, the announcer blares their names over the stadium, and then they’re off!

Dorothea leads the Chasers around the perimeter of the stadium, flying neatly around the flags and towers before diving back into the main stadium. The Keeper flies to his post, watching the others with a hawk’s eye. The Beaters stick together, and Ryouko keeps herself amused with a few fancy tricks, grinning when she catches a glimpse of Makie and Shino waving silver and green flags from the stands.

The announcer gives them ten seconds or so before their opponents are sent out onto the field, and Ryouko’s grip on her broom tightens as the Gryffindors enter the stadium.

Philip is daring enough to do a few tricks on his broom that even Ryouko wouldn’t think about trying with or without practice, brimming with pride and confidence, and Ryouko catches a glimpse of Dorothea’s half exasperated, half anticipatory grin. He flips himself down from a handstand and around underneath his broom before pulling himself back up, swerving sharply. The bright sun shines on his platinum blond hair as he tosses his head like a racehorse prancing up to the starting line.

Ryouko is more focused on the last red-clad figure flying out of the Gryffindor side of the pitch. Yuliy doesn’t bother with any tricks or fancy maneuvers, just coasts up to a comfortable height to sweep the perimeter of the pitch, gaze sharp. His bright blue eyes flicker to Ryouko, who swallows hard, but she thinks she can see a gleam of something excited there instead of his customary, guarded expression.

She grins to herself. If it’s a challenge he wants, it’s a challenge he’ll get from the best Seeker at Hogwarts.

With a whoop, she spirals into a steep dive as the other players begin to assemble into a ring for the start of the match. At the last moment, she pulls hard to the side, her body reacting instinctively to balance her out as she comes to a sharp, smooth stop.

Dorothea grins briefly at her (they were just talking about how to balance a dive yesterday) before making an ‘I’m watching you’ hand motion at Philip, who bares his teeth in a confident grin.

Yuliy drifts down calmly across from Ryouko. His lack of showboating doesn’t fool her, though, and her grip tightens on her broom, the leather of her gloves creaking and stretching.

“I want a nice, clean match from all of you,” Madam Hooch says sternly, marching up to the box of Quidditch balls sitting in the middle of the pitch.

With one flip of a latch, the Bludgers tear out of their constraints, droning a dull hum as they zip through the air. The Snitch follows, hovering for a moment in front of Ryouko, and then darting almost playfully over to Yuliy before it zooms off.

Their minds, wired for the hunt, make the same connection.

_Target acquired._

The Quaffle is released, and the game is on.

Both Seekers fly up and away from the mosh pit that always marks the Quaffle’s release. Ryouko grins when a streak of green flies away with the large red ball tucked under her arm, heading straight for Philip, who has taken up his position as Keeper.

_“And Slytherin takes possession, Lopez carrying the Quaffle!”_

The Slytherin Chasers work like a well-oiled machine, practiced maneuvers blending seamlessly into one another. Ryouko keeps one eye on the stadium while waiting for the Snitch to appear and decides she can spare a second to watch Philip.

One of the Gryffindor Chasers makes a lunge for the Quaffle, but the Slytherin Chaser drops it to Dorothea before soaring away, leaving Dorothea free to shoot. The red ball flies like a cannonball at the left goalpost-

The red and gold section of the stands bursts into cheers when Philip swings over to kick the Quaffle back to one of his teammates, dangling by a single hand. With deceptive ease, he hops back onto his broom and grins smugly, no doubt at Dorothea, who shakes her head at him with a grin before veering off to chase the Quaffle.

The wind tears past Ryouko as she streaks higher into the sky for a better vantage point. Yuliy has done the same, his unblinking blue gaze sweeping the field continuously. Their eyes meet, a hundred meters above the ground, and Ryouko decides to mess with him.

She takes off like a bullet towards the tangle of Chasers, dodging a Bludger. Her teammate whacks it back at Yuliy, who swerves to avoid it with barely a glance at the missile, and she flies a loop in front of the Chasers. Dorothea and her teammates split smoothly around her, but Yuliy chases Ryouko right into the path of his own teammates, causing a small pile-up of bodies. Still, he manages to slip out of the way easily enough, and Ryouko grins back at him slyly.

“Hey, nice job keeping up!” she calls out, allowing herself to indulge in some harmless teasing.

To her shock, he grins back ferally, fangs flashing bright white in the sun. Her startled squeak is thankfully carried away by the wind, but she nearly doesn’t dodge a Bludger in time.

When she pulls out of a sharp turn, her face burning almost as red as Gryffindor robes, a streak of black and red screams past her. Her heart lurches when the stands fall into a hush, and she realizes that Yuliy has spotted the Snitch for real.

Sure enough, a glimmer of gold shines on the far side of the pitch, flitting about like an innocent, oblivious hummingbird. Yuliy has about a half second’s head start, and he barrels towards it like a hunter with a one-track determination. She has to admire his drive, but he’s too focused on the Snitch, and she can take advantage of that.

She makes a hand signal at her team’s Beaters, who veer away from the Chasers. Yuliy’s bright blue gaze snaps back around in surprise when the Bludgers fly at him, one after the other, and Ryouko zips past him neatly as he’s regaining his figurative balance.

He takes _her_ by surprise, though, when he recovers much faster than she expected him to. In a split second, they’re neck and neck and rapidly gaining on the Snitch. It suddenly shoots straight up, and neither of the miss a beat in pursuing it in a steep climb.

Ryouko darts glances at him every so often, but his gaze is fixed resolutely on the Snitch—like a predator chasing his prey, and it’s the only thing that matters. She shivers, even as she grins. Snakes are natural hunters too—they seek out their prey and lie in wait patiently until it gets close enough for them to strike-

Yuliy thrusts out a hand for the Snitch, and she makes her move then, knocking aside his hand to seize the speck of gold.

With a very unladylike whoop of triumph, she somersaults away, holding up the Snitch for all to see. Her vision becomes a whirlwind of green and silver as her teammates mob her in triumph, laughing and screaming and the occasional tear escaping freely. Makie and Shino come tearing onto the pitch, and she hugs them, hugs Dorothea, hugs her captain, hugs everyone-

She screeches to a stop, a second away from accidentally throwing her arms around Yuliy, who stops abruptly in his tracks, looking mildly bewildered.

“Oh! Uh, sorry!” she squeaks, flushing to the roots of her hair. It seemed like he was looking for someone—someone in the Slytherin crowd.

Immediately, the Slytherin Beaters flank her on either side as a silent warning towards Yuliy—Ryouko has been the target of the occasional sore loser more than once. But she senses that while Yuliy is more than a little disappointed, and perhaps angry, it would only be directed at himself, not her. She makes an ‘it’s fine’ gesture at the Beaters, and they troop off to resume celebrating with the others.

She opens her mouth, but then Dorothea comes flying in, looping an arm around both their shoulders. “Hey, that was a close one!” She grins teasingly at Yuliy, ruffling his hair, and Ryouko thinks to herself that he has the most adorable pout. “Man, I thought you would’ve had it for sure.”

Yuliy visibly rolls his eyes. “I’m good at dodging things quickly, not exactly at catching things.”

“Well, that was some pretty good flying out there, not gonna lie.”

“I thought I was your star pupil, shouldn’t you have been cheering for me?” Ryouko asks Dorothea, feigning hurt and indignation, though her grin might ruin the effect slightly.

“Oh, I was,” she agrees cheerfully. “Philip owes me ten galleons now, thanks! I’m gonna go shake him down for that.”

She claps them both on the shoulder hard and strolls off, greeting Fallon with a swagger in her step as he hops down from the stands, not bothering with the stairs. Ryouko and Yuliy watch as the two approach Philip—they can see his ears turn red even from here.

“Good catch.”

Ryouko blinks, braids whipping around as she turns back to Yuliy. “Thank you!” she says, a bubble of surprised delight swelling in her chest. “You move so well in the air, though. I could never hope to match that.”

He makes a sort of awkward smile-grimace expression. “Thanks…”

She hesitates, shifting her grip on her broom. “So...If you don’t mind me asking...why did you play Seeker if you’re not good at catching things?”

To her surprise (and endearment), he looks vaguely embarrassed, lifting one gloved hand to scratch his head. “It was the only position I could reasonably play.”

“What do you mean?” she asks in bewilderment. She can understand why he didn’t play Beater, because to be honest, he’s a bit lanky. But with the way he flew, and his reflexes, she could see him playing the other positions.

“Well, I couldn’t beat Philip at Keeper.” He makes a face and adds, “And if I did, he’d be harping at me for weeks after...Chaser requires teamwork, and the team already had three that worked fine together. Same with the Beaters. I at least have decent hand-eye coordination...and Seekers are the most targeted players in the game. I thought it would be good practice.”

She stares. Practice for...what? He seems to notice her confusion and clears his throat awkwardly, shifting his feet.

“Why did you play Seeker?” he asks quickly, surprising her.

“Me? Well…” She shrugs awkwardly, having never really thought about it. “I wanted to play Quidditch, branch out a little, so I tried out in my second year. The lineup was pretty airtight, and the only position open was Seeker. Kind of the same as you. I was going to try out for Chaser the next year, but after a year of playing Seeker, I really liked it.” She smiles at her trusty broom. “When I go out on the pitch, I have a clear goal. I know what I need to do.”

And that’s not something she really has outside the pitch, especially with regards to her future after Hogwarts. The confidence in her skills and her purpose while on the Quidditch pitch feels good.

With a bright smile, she adds, “But catching the Snitch is really fun too!”

She breaks off abruptly, wondering if her comment could be misconstrued as a jab at Yuliy’s loss. But he doesn’t seem upset, to her relief, instead wearing an expression of understanding.

“Hey, party in the common room!” her team captain yells, and Ryouko lets herself be swept away by her Housemates, flashing one last smile over her shoulder at Yuliy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Yuliy's position was also pretty easy to decide. Canon Yuliy chases revenge and answers like a Seeker chases the Snitch, and he pursues both with reckless abandon, sometimes forgetting his teammates and surroundings in the process. That's why I had Ryouko win, because she actually has experience playing Quidditch (and can think like a Slytherin). Yuliy is a better flier, but she's the better player.
> 
> With Philip, he'll definitely jump into the action without hesitation, but I never really saw him as a front-liner, if that makes sense? At Dr. Hanada's house, Yuliy was the front line while Philip got their weapons. In the siege of the Naoe mansion, Dorothea and Fallon looked like they were set up as the first line of defense. Philip and Yuliy were set further back, and the action came to them, like how Keepers work.
> 
> Also, I bet the Jaegers just know or do a bunch of seemingly random things because of their experiences hunting vampires all over the world, and then they accidentally say or do something weird in front of other people, and they're like 'how tf do you know that?' or 'wtf was that?' And they're like '...aNyWaYs'
> 
> And I also have no idea what I'm doing with my life, so I kinda projected that onto Ryouko XD


	5. Morning Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, this fic sorta got pushed to the side XD Here, have some nonsense.

“Hey, morning,” Dorothea greets cheerfully, broom in hand.

Ryouko yawns widely, still half asleep, and leans on her own broom. “Why did we have to go so _early…?”_

“Conflicting schedules,” she says with a frankly appalling amount of emergy for the fact that it’s currently six thirty in the morning. “Come on, I snagged some food from the house elves to tide us over until breakfast.”

Ryouko rubs her eyes, following Dorothea towards the common room exit. “How long have you been awake?”

“I dunno. Five? Five thirty? Here, have some toast.”

Mechanically, she nibbles at the corner, then starts to eat in earnest when she realizes how hungry she is. “Why?” she asks flatly, still a little too sleepy to care that her mouth is half full.

Dorothea just shrugs airily. “Habit. Come on, you’ll wake up more when you get outside on the pitch.”

She’s right about that, at least. After waking up enough that she won’t fall off her broom, they fly to the pitch, and Ryouko starts to smile when she sees four familiar people already there.

Wait, four?

Philip and Fallon are apparently racing, streaking around the pitch in blurs of yellow and red and green and also loudly trash-talking each other, mostly about each other’s home countries. Mildly alarmed, Ryouko looks at Dorothea awkwardly, pointing at the bickering racers, and she just rolls her eyes.

“Don’t worry about it, they’re always like that,” she says dryly. With an exasperated expression, she adds, “Ask either of them anything related to politics and they’ll just give you a blank look, but if you ask them about food in Britain vs Ireland, prepare to say goodbye to the next hour of your life.”

But standing on the ground are Yuliy and, to Ryouko’s great surprise, Professor Willard, both with brooms in hand. The two of them are talking about something or other, and Yuliy is oddly enthusiastic, gesturing with his hands and a certain liveliness in his posture.

All of them seem far more awake than any human being has a right to be at this hour.

Dorothea lands—well, more like jumps off her broom a meter or two off the ground. “Morning. I brought a friend.”

Two sets of curious eyes land on her, and she waves, mustering a shy smile. She hasn’t actually ever seen the new professor in person after the start of term banquet. Whenever she tries asking Dorothea about him, she just deflects the question. From what Ryouko has heard from her friends, though, the new professor is a pretty good teacher—Hogwarts alumni, stoic but knowledgeable, and quite patient, which, if he has to deal with those four all the time, isn’t surprising.

“I won!” screeches Philip’s voice from above.

“You did not win,” Fallon protests. “Hey, Dorothea, who won?”

“It was a photo finish,” she responds without even looking.

Philip scowls, flattening his windblown hair. “It was not! You weren’t even watching.”

He somersaults backwards into a dive before flattening out abruptly and screeching to a stop next to the others, hopping agilely off his broom. Fallon follows at a more reasonable pace.

“Anyways, what’s she doing here?” the blond asks, gesturing at Ryouko curiously.

“Even numbers, of course.”

Willard frowns. “I wasn’t planning to-”

“You’re playing,” Dorothea tells him in a tone that brooks no argument. With a wink at a bewildered Ryouko, she adds in a stage whisper, “Take it easy on him. He’s a bit rusty.”

Willard gives the older girl a deadpan look, and Philip plants a hand on his hip. “Come on, Professor, it’s boring if we don’t have at least two Chasers per team. Now we can actually play with Keepers too.”

“I call dibs on Ryouko and Fallon, by the way,” Dorothea adds, and Fallon grins cheerfully at her while Philip scowls.

“What are you implying about my Keeping?!”

“Nothing at all,” she says smoothly, “but he did save one more than you against us.”

“I would’ve had that last one if Yuliy didn’t fly right in front of me trying to catch the Snitch!”

Yuliy frowns. “It’s my _job.”_

“Yeah, which you failed at,” Philip grumbles, and Yuliy levels a glare at the back of his head.

“To be fair,” Dorothea interjects, slinging an arm around Ryouko, “our Seeker is pretty darn awesome.” Ryouko blushes, and the older girl grins smugly, purring, “No one else can keep up. It’s not their fault, really.”

Philip’s eyebrow twitches. “Well, that aside, why do I have to be on Yuliy’s team?! He’s got less hand-eye coordination than a blind squirrel.”

Fallon frowns. “What do you have against squirrels?” he asks, sounding a little more personally wounded than squirrels merit, in Ryouko’s humble opinion (though they are adorable, and there are some at her family’s estate that are absolutely fearless of humans, and why are they talking about squirrels again?).

“Nothing!”

Yuliy meticulously straightens out one of the twigs in his broom. “Well, there was that one time when one of them fell out of a tree when we were in the states and-”

“We don’t talk about that!” Philip practically screeches, and Yuliy blinks far too innocently to be innocent. Dorothea and Fallon are both stifling laughter, and even Willard looks mildly amused. Now Ryouko really wants to hear that story.

The sole adult present clears his throat. “I thought we woke up at six to play Quidditch, not stand around bickering?”

Yuliy tugs a baby blue jacket tighter around himself. “Yeah, can we just get flying? It’s cold.” He waves his wand around himself, probably casting a Warming Charm or something.

Philip snorts. “You’re always cold.”

“We’re in _Scotland.”_

“And somehow, you also found a way to be cold in the Sahara Desert-”

“Deserts get cold at night.”

Fallon walks by the two, ruffling both their heads and eliciting an indignant squawk from the blond. “Alright, let’s get flying, gentlemen! And ladies,” he adds, flashing a grin at said ladies, and Dorothea rolls her eyes. “Once the game starts, it’s on!”

\---

Out of all of the ‘Chasers’, Dorothea is the only one who seems to have any hand-eye coordination, which is something that they _maybe_ should’ve thought of earlier. Ryouko has it a bit better, since she’s used to chasing around an unpredictable little orb smaller than her fist, but it doesn’t translate all that well to catching a large red ball slightly larger than her head.

Luckily, Yuliy and Professor Willard are...just as bad at it as she is. They seem to have a pretty good grasp on the concepts and strategy, actually, but not so much on the execution. Philip and Fallon spend more time laughing at them from the goalposts than actually Keeping, despite how excited they were to get to play Keeper in the first place.

Yuliy makes an awkward toss, and Dorothea snatches it out of the air with a smirk. Philip cackles from where he’s floating by the goalposts.

“You throw like my grandmother!” he jeers. Ryouko can see the tips of Yuliy’s ears go red from the other side of the pitch.

“Aren’t you guys supposed to be on the same side?” she asks, bemused, as she drifts up next to him.

“Try telling him that,” Yuliy grumbles before racing after Dorothea, and she follows him, giggling.

Dorothea catches Ryouko’s eye and hurls the Quaffle at her. She nearly rolls off her broom catching it, since she has to use both hands and the Quaffle is significantly heavier than a Snitch. Yuliy is arrowing towards her, eyes zeroed in on the Quaffle, but she quickly zips around to Willard’s side. So far, he’s been neutral on engaging her, choosing mostly to stick to messing with Dorothea. He’s actually a good flier, but it’s pretty clear he hasn’t played much Quidditch either.

She chucks the Quaffle back at Dorothea at the last moment and swerves around the professor, grinning. Despite her lackluster and slightly crooked toss, Dorothea still manages to catch it and make it look effortless, and she draws back as she approaches the goalposts.

In a rather impressive show of acrobatics, Philip does something in between a flip and a roll, kicking the Quaffle away with a grunt. “Professor, heads up!”

_Thud._

The Quaffle shoots right past Willard’s outstretched hands and into his face. He sways alarmingly on his broom, and his nose starts to bleed before he claps a hand over it.

...heads up, indeed.

For a split second, the entire pitch is dead silent. Philip is staring with his mouth agape and eyes as wide as Snitches, Fallon has just about the same expression but without the ‘oops’ look, and Dorothea looks like she’s not sure whether she wants to groan or laugh.

“Are you okay?” Yuliy exclaims, rushing to the professor’s side, his wand already in hand.

He flicks his wand, and the professor winces, but the bleeding stops. Ryouko, who caught the Quaffle since Willard obviously didn’t, wanders closer, not sure what she should be doing here.

Dorothea catches her alarmed expression and offers a wry grin. “Don’t worry about it, he’s fine. It’s just a nosebleed.”

Philip drifts closer with a contrite expression, and Yuliy rounds on him.

“Really?” he snaps, bristling; his defensiveness compared to his typical stoicism surprises Ryouko. She has a feeling that the professor is more than just a teacher to him.

“I’m sorry, it was an accident!” the blond yelps, pouting. “He’s on my team, you think I did it on purpose?”

“Hey, hey, no harm done, right?” Fallon offers, ruffling Philip’s hair affectionately.

“Quit it!”

Dorothea doesn’t look all that concerned, just asking the professor calmly if he’s alright, to which he responds affirmatively. Those two seem to be the voices of reason here.

“Except I now look like I walked out of a bloodbath,” Willard adds dryly, glancing down at his jacket and sleeve, which has several large, dark red splatters on it now.

To Ryouko’s mild confusion, the students just exchange awkward looks, seemingly at a loss for what to do.

“Um,” she finally says, “I can do a cleaning spell if you want…”

At Willard’s surprised but grateful nod, she clears her throat, flicking her wand at his jacket. _“Tergeo.”_

Instantly, all the blood vanishes, and she smiles in satisfaction.

“You have to teach us how to do that,” Dorothea says instantly. Ryouko is startled to see that the seventh year girl even looks moderately impressed.

“You don’t kn—I mean-”

“We know the spell,” Fallon says, saving her the awkwardness of asking, “we’re just all really bad at…”

“Housekeeping spells,” Yuliy supplies, looking mildly embarrassed in a highly adorable manner.

Philip snorts. “Yeah. Yuliy can’t even do a _Scourgify_ on the dishes.”

“Like you can do any better.”

Ryouko stifles a giggle. Willard is apparently an expert on the most obscure ancient rune languages. Dorothea can perfectly Transfigure a person (read: Philip, when she was giving a demonstration) into an animal and then back with no issues (she did leave him a pair of cat ears and whiskers as a joke, though). Fallon can Charm vinegar into firewhiskey without a word (the assignment was to Charm vinegar into wine, apparently, but Flitwick thought it was funny and gave him extra points). Philip can multiply four digit numbers inside his head in the space of two seconds and look bored doing it. Yuliy can snap off half a dozen Stunners in the time it takes to blink once.

And apparently, none of them know how to do the dishes with magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it was at this moment that she knew...
> 
> ...they're all just nerds. XD


	6. Here, Kitty Kitty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for imadeanaccountnow, who requested shenanigans with magical creatures :) Thank you for the idea!

Audible gasps and coos drift up from the class as tiny furballs tumble into the world, mewling and squealing. Yuliy squats down with a small smile, letting one of the little kittens nibble curiously at his finger. The others will surely tease him for seemingly being a ‘cat person’ later, but they’re just so _cute._

“Now,” says the Care of Magical Creatures professor over the hubbub, “who can tell me the difference between a kneazle and an ordinary house cat?”

Yuliy winces as the kitten climbs its way up his sleeve, digging its little claws into the cloth, and he props it up with his other hand, afraid to let it fall. Its large ears and plumed tail tickle his skin as it clambers onto his shoulder and looks around with a smug expression, as if immensely proud of its achievement. He scratches its head with one finger, and the force of its purr is enough to be felt through his shoulder.

“Hi,” he whispers, and the kitten flops down, deciding that his shoulder makes an adequate resting spot.

He catches a flash of brown as Ryouko kneels down next to him, beaming. “That’s so cute,” she whispers, looking absolutely smitten. She reaches out a hand, only for the kitten to skitter to Yuliy’s opposite shoulder with something that sounds suspiciously like a ‘hmph’. “Aww…”

He smiles apologetically. “Cats are…” Philip comes to mind immediately. “...very contrary. I’m sure you did nothing wrong.”

~~~

Nursing a scratched hand and a bruised ego, Philip slouches into Willard’s classroom to find the others waiting for him. “Hey…”

Dorothea, who’s reading with her feet kicked up on an adjacent desk, looks up with an amused wrinkled nose.

“What’s got your knickers in a bunch?” she asks, not sounding particularly concerned about it.

Neither of them bat an eye when an explosion goes off somewhere in Fallon’s vicinity, and Philip sighs, tossing his bag on an empty desk. “You would not believe the morning I had.”

“Hey, Philip, you got another deck of Exploding Snap?”

“Yeah, yeah…” He trudges past Yuliy and his homework, and he catches a glimpse of big ears and plumed tails. “You guys are doing kneazles too?”

“Mmm.” He glances up, and then down at the scratches on Philip’s hands. “I suppose you caught the business end of their claws?”

“Shut up,” he mutters, hunching his shoulders with a scowl. “I don’t even get it. I’m a cat person, through and through!”

A wicked smirk curves at the blond’s lips as he pivots around Yuliy’s desk, leaning back against the adjacent one. “I bet they _loved_ you, what with you being a _mutt_ and all.”

He’s mildly confused when that doesn’t get the rise that he would’ve usually expected out of the young werewolf, who just looks up with a deadpan expression. Confused, he keeps eye contact for a few moments, wondering what the hell is going through Yuliy’s head.

And then a furry head pops out of Yuliy’s hood and innocently _meows._

Philip screams and nearly falls over the desk behind him trying to get away. “Yuliy, watch out! There’s a--a thing! Don’t move!”

The little devil blinks at him with wide, innocent doe eyes, slowly curling its claws into the edge of Yuliy’s hood, and _meows_ again, showing off its shiny white fangs. Philip, who has stared down legions of vampires, flown a broom through a literal hail of spells and bullets, and laughed in the face of death many times in his young life, _meeps._

As if completely oblivious, Yuliy glances behind him and reaches back to scratch the kitten’s head, and Philip’s jaw drops to the floor, along with his wand.

“I went back to visit them this morning after you had your class, and this one wouldn’t let me leave without it, so the professor let me look after it for today,” he explains with a shrug, as if he isn’t harboring the _devil incarnate_ in the back of his hood.

“That--that--that little bloodthirsty monster chewed up my hand!” Philip screeches.

Yuliy just shrugs, smiling when the kitten nuzzles his hand, pushing its ears back, and Philip scowls.

“I don’t even get it!” he whines indignantly. “My patronus--my spirit animal--is a cat! Yours is a _dog.”_

“Wolf.”

“Same difference!”

Again, Yuliy shrugs indifferently. “Cats are very intelligent, especially kneazles,” he says with a straight face. “I’m sure you just did something wrong.”

In the back of his throat, Philip makes a little screechy sound, and the kitten mewls, wriggling back into Yuliy’s hood, and the werewolf frowns. “You’re scaring it.”

“I--wh-- _I’m_ scaring _it?!”_

The kitten blinks piteously at Philip with big eyes, but Philip’s not buying the act.

“It’s just waiting for me to let my guard down!” he snaps, crossing his arms; he refuses to back down in the face of this lowly intimidation. “Well, I’m not going to! I see those little claws. You can’t fool me, you little hairball!”

“Kittens can’t retract their claws voluntarily until they’re about a month old-”

“I don’t care!”

And then, right before his eyes, the kitten withdraws its claws with a _snick--_ and then puts them back out, curling menacingly into the fabric of Yuliy’s robes, and Philip’s jaw drops.

“It just--it just did i!” he squeaks, gesturing frantically at the little devil. “It’s fooling you! It’s pretending to be this helpless, cute, fluffy little thing, but it’s _not,_ it’s-”

“I _think_ you might be overreacting,” Yuliy deadpans, giving him a look that says he thinks Philip is crazy, which, for the record, Philip does not appreciate.

“I am not overreacting! I’m a cat person! Literally! I know these things!”

A quiet, slightly amused cough from Willard interrupts the proceedings.

“As entertaining as this is,” he says dryly, “I’d prefer it if you take the shouting matches outside. I have work to do.”

Frustrated that no one is taking him seriously, Philip growls, only for the kitten to suddenly clamber out of Yuliy’s hood. In all its fake kitten-like adorableness, it clumsily drops to the floor and skitters closer to Philip, who immediately scampers away with a squeak-

Only to suddenly remember that his wand is still on the floor where he dropped it.

The kitten stops next to the wand, blinks at it, and blinks at Philip, who _meeps_ again.

“Okay,” he squeaks, slowly dropping to his knees, “that’s my wand...I need it back. It’s not a toy.”

As if it doesn’t know exactly what Philip’s talking about, the kitten stares at the wand, then blinks at him, plumed tail swishing, and he tries to paste on an encouraging smile.

“Yeah, that’s right,” he agrees, reaching out a hand slowly. “Here, kitty kitty...be a good kitty…” He is very aware that the others are watching with poorly hidden (or not hidden at all) amusement, being absolutely no use at all, whatsoever.

The kitten picks up the wand delicately in its jaws and pads slowly towards Philip, who beams. See, he’s definitely a cat person. “That’s a good kitty!”

And then it books it out the open window, with Philip’s wand in tow.

Yuliy jumps two rows of desks and bolts to the window, catching a glimpse of the little kitten in the tree next to the window before Philip sticks his head out next to him frantically.

“Where is it? Where did it go?!” he demands.

“Calm down, it’s in the tree,” Yuliy says, pointing to where it’s clinging to a branch, a malicious glint in its eyes. “Thank goodness it didn’t get hurt.”

“Great!” he exclaims sarcastically, throwing his hands up. “Did we forget it’s still got my wand?”

The kitten _meows_ again. Philip swears it’s laughing at him. Like a squirrel, it swarms down the tree and takes off, and he makes a squeaky sound in the back of his throat.

Yuliy yelps when Philip snags a handful of his robes. “Hey-”

“You’re the one who summoned that little devil, so you’re the one who’s gonna help me get my wand back from it!”

“I didn’t _summon-”_

“I don’t care!”

~~~

“How did it get up there?!”

From the roof of one of the greenhouses, the kitten cheerfully stares down at them, tail swishing merrily. Ignoring Philip’s spluttering, it starts walking along the center beam of the roof, and the blond scrambles after it.

“Can’t you do an _accio_ or something?” he demands, turning to Yuliy, who regards his own wand with a detached look of intrigue.

“I could,” he agrees, and puts his wand away.

Philip makes a distinctly cat-like growl, and Yuliy helpfully points out, “It’s in a tree now.”

The branch underneath the kitten bounces slightly as it walks onto it with a spring in its step, and Philip yelps when he realizes where it is.

“Don’t you dare drop my wand!” he exclaims as the kitten wanders out over the Black Lake. “I swear on Merlin’s pants, if you drop it-”

He squeaks when the kitten dangles the wand over the lake with one claw, and he could _swear_ that thing is grinning at him with more sadism than every Dark Lord in history combined.

“Yuliy!” he hisses, gesturing wildly at the kitten. “Help me get it back!”

“It’s just playing,” the young werewolf says with a shrug, looking rather amused by the whole situation. “Also, it’s getting away again.”

“What?!”

Philip turns to see the furball streaking through the field, with his wand still clamped between its jaws, and with a frustrated screechy sound, he gives chase, internally cursing his lack of physical strength and endurance.

By contrast, Yuliy isn’t even out of breath, likely owing to his werewolf blood, by the time they chase the little devil all the way to the Quidditch pitch. He looks much like he’s just taking a leisurely stroll around the grounds, and Philip would’ve tried to throttle him if a) he had his wand, and b) he wasn’t currently trying to get it back from a creature that is probably, in all honesty, distantly related to a basilisk or a chimaera, given how much enjoyment it seems to get out of torturing him.

“Where...is...it?” he manages to gasp out, hunched over on his knees as he tries to regain his breath.

Yuliy looks around, brow furrowing in confusion. “I’m...not sure, as a matter of--oh.”

Mopping sweat out of his eyes, Philip glances up to see Yuliy pointing...up.

At the goalposts.

Where the kitten is perched, somehow, still with Philip’s wand in its possession.

It _meows_ faintly _,_ and Philip just about loses his mind.

“How did it get up there?!” he squawks for the second time today. “Yuliy, give me your wand.”

“What? No.”

Philip sighs. He hadn’t expected Yuliy to agree anyways; most witches and wizards, including Philip, are very possessive over the primary conduit for their magic.

“Well, how else am I supposed to get it down from there?” he asks exasperatedly.

Yuliy looks around thoughtfully before his face transforms into an ‘aha’ expression. With a flick of his wand, he Summons a Comet broom from the storage shed, and Philip glares flatly at the rickety old thing.

“It’s not like you need speed for this,” Yuliy says with an indifferent shrug.

Without another word, Philip quickly mounts the broom and kicks off, wincing as the stupidly slow broom lists to the right slightly before he manages to wrench it back in the right direction. He guides it to where the kitten is perched in the hoop of the middle goalpost, tentatively reaching out a hand.

“Come on, it’s dangerous up there,” he says, trying to drift closer and closer without alarming the thing. “Just let me get you down...and maybe get my wand back too…”

A gust of wind suddenly pushes Philip and his broom sideways, and the kitten squeaks and falls backwards off the goalposts.

There’s a shout of alarm from below as Yuliy breaks into a sprint, rushing for the base of the goalposts. But just before the kitten hits the ground, there’s a flash of light from Philip’s wand, and the kitten finds itself tumbling in slow motion down to the ground, where it lands with a soft _meep._

Philip gapes at the scene; meanwhile, Yuliy beams at the kitten and crouches to pet its head affectionately, cooing praises and endearments as the furball soaks up all the attention.

Finally shaking off his shock, Philip shouts, “Hey!” as he guides the broom into a dive.

Immediately, the kitten dashes off again, and Philip nearly falls face-first onto the ground as he lands.

“Why didn’t you grab the wand?” he demands incredulously, stomping up to Yuliy, who shrugs sheepishly, looking unbothered.

“I...forgot?” he says awkwardly, and Philip facepalms.

~~~

Deeply regretting bringing Yuliy along, because all he’s doing is being very _not_ helpful, Philip staggers to a stop at the top of a hill, panting with his hands braced against his knees. Squinting into the bright afternoon sun, he desperately scans the fields for some glimpse of the monster.

As if _toying_ with him, the kitten _meows_ from further away, eyes glittering as it turns and streaks off, with Philip in hot pursuit and Yuliy tagging along, not even trying to hide his amusement anymore.

“I thought dogs were supposed to be the playful idiots,” Philip complains, trying to force as much venom into his tone as possible, but it’s a little hard when he’s trying to catch his breath--and his breath seems to be winning the race.

Yuliy just shrugs, unbothered by the jab. “Cats can have fun too. Their favorite activity appears to be watching you suffer.”

“I hate you.”

“Hey,” Yuliy says suddenly, pointing with one slender finger, “that’s the professor’s hut. Maybe you can ask for help.”

“Finally,” he gasps, starting to make his way towards the hut, “you have a good idea for once.”

The Care professor is working in his garden, and the kneazle mom is sitting on a fence post, sunbathing. While Yuliy gives her head scritches, Philip staggers over to the professor, who, to his chagrin, seems to find his tale of woe more amusing than deserving of sympathy.

“Well, you know how felines are,” he laughs, leaning on a shovel lackadaisically. “They’re free spirits, they do what they want.”

“That doesn’t help me!”

At the sound of another _meow,_ they turn to see the little kitten perched on top of a giant pumpkin by the side of the hut, still with Philip’s wand in possession. It nimbly jumps out of the way of his attempt to grab it, only for the kneazle mom to snatch it up by the scruff.

At a stern _meow_ from the mother, the kitten reluctantly drops the wand on the ground, at long last ending its reign of terror.

Philip could’ve cried in relief. “Oh, thank Merlin!” He squats down, reaching out for the wand, feeling a certain vindictive satisfaction at the sullen look on the kitten’s face. “See, mother knows best-”

And then the mother drops the kitten, snatches the wand up, and streaks past Philip, and Yuliy barks out a laugh in the background.

“HEY!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does Philip ever get his wand back? Who knows? ;P

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy. It's "you never asked for my headcanons and theorizing and shower thoughts but here you go" time!
> 
> I didn't feel like making up a whole cast of characters, but most professors will likely be the same, if their classes come up. This doesn't take place in the Harry Potter continuity, if that makes sense? It's set in the 90's still, but Harry Potter doesn't really exist. I'm basically just using the HP universe as a setting and chucking out all the plot and characters XD So that means that Snape has no reason to be a git, so if I do write a Potions class or something, the professor will probably just be a nameless person (I might keep the Slytherin bias for fun or something XD). I'll just say, I have an idea for Defense. Willard is the new Ancient Runes professor (who was never mentioned in the books anyway). Also, the Headmaster is also nameless (he doesn't really interfere with whatever the Jaegers are doing, and that's not something Dumbledore would be willing to do, so I got rid of him too XD).
> 
> Again, I don't know if any of that will be relevant. I plan to write more, but only if I have a good idea for a drabble or oneshot or chapter or whatever. So if you have any ideas, let me know! I might just do it :)
> 
> Okay, as for the Sortings. Their Houses were based solely on my own opinions of their characters and my subconscious headcanons XD but I'll try to explain them. I hope they make sense. Oh yeah, I don't know if Mikhail will appear. Pretty sure he won't...I think I would need to practice writing him more.
> 
> Potential spoilers ahead for the show, by the way. Oh, and I'll include some other stuff too, because.
> 
> Yuliy: Gryffindor. I could see him in Slytherin, because of his personal ambition to wipe out vampires for revenge, but I ultimately chose Gryffindor because he also has a sense of justice too, right? And in the end, he chose to step away from his family to work for the greater good and wield his power for a good cause. Year 5. Pureblood.
> 
> Philip: Gryffindor. I had the most trouble with figuring out Philip, but I picked Gryffindor in the end. During the siege of the Naoe mansion, he was injured and told Yuliy to run and leave him at the mercy of Mikhail and Kershner, despite his initial dislike of Yuliy (I know he'd mostly come to terms with that by the siege, but still). Year 4. Muggleborn.
> 
> Fallon: Hufflepuff. I wrote a oneshot called "No Place like Home" which details my headcanons of Fallon's family. I just see him as a big teddy bear who will protect family with his own life. He's incredibly loyal (definitely not saying that the others aren't, but I kinda see it as his defining feature). Year 6. Half-blood.
> 
> Dorothea: Slytherin. Okay, this one might be a little random, but the show gave us nothing on any of their backstories, so I made up hers (in a oneshot called "Carving a Path" if anyone's interested). Basically, she has a strong ambition to make a name for herself and get out there in the world. I'd say the show shows us that she's pretty clever too, usually helping Willard with investigations. Year 7. Muggleborn.
> 
> Willard: Ravenclaw. My theory is that he basically hoards information like a dragon hoards treasure XD. I think he wanted to decipher the Sirius writings (by the way, we'll just assume Yuliy's backstory is pretty similar to canon) just for the sake of it. Like, he just wanted to know what it said, and where the Ark was, purely to know it. Not out of any desire to wield the Ark or whatever (I'm like that myself; I like listening in to conversations just for the heck of it). I don't think he had "good" intentions, per se, but he never had any bad intentions towards the Sirius people and the Ark. Ancient Runes professor. Half-blood.
> 
> Ryouko: Slytherin. I know that might be a little strange, but I'm more confident in her Sorting than Philip's, to be honest. I saw her as pretty ambitious and daring throughout the show in her attempts to catch Yuliy's eye, and then later on, in her adventures with the Jaegers. It was either Slytherin or Gryffindor, because she is undoubtedly brave too (and a bit brash), but I didn't want to put her too close to Yuliy at first. I wanted to make her work for that, like she did in the show. And she and Dorothea seemed to get along, as fellow female warriors, so I put them together to bond. Year 5. Pureblood.
> 
> Mikhail (unlikely that he'll show up, but I Sorted him too because why not): Hufflepuff. He sacrificed everything to protect his family, Yuliy. He's a good big brother and only wanted Yuliy to be safe. That drove like 99.99% of his actions.
> 
> So yes, this is ongoing or whatever, continuously in WIP status XD. No, I don't know how much I'm going to write (again, let me know if there's an idea you want to see!). Yes, I have a few ideas in mind and zero (0) idea of whether or not I'm going to actually write them out. No, there is no plot whatsoever! Cheers :)


End file.
